FRIDAY, AUGUST 27, 2010


KLMNO BASEBALL


EZ SU


D5 Harper makes powerful impression


Top overall pick puts on a display in batting practice


BY ADAM KILGORE On Thursdaymorning, before


he scalded a ball into the third deck at Nationals Park and be- fore his grand introduction to Washington, Bryce Harper in- troduced himself to the city where the Washington Nation- als believe hewill become a star, their “cornerstone.” Harper went for a jog, but in the style one might expect only of a carefree 17-year-old who smears eye black on his face like war paint and wears a jet-black suit with a hot-pink tie to his first professional news conference. As part of his morning run,


Harper climbed shirtless up the steps of the U.S. Capitol, a headband wrapped around his forehead, just below the spiky faux-hawk.He pumped his arms like Rocky.When he returned to his hotel room, he gave his father a report. “He said, ‘Everybody was


looking at me like I was crazy,’ ” Ron Harper said later. “I said, ‘Well, Bryce . . .’ ” In his first trip toWashington


and first day spent with the Nationals, Harper made clear both why the Nationals selected himfirst overall and his noncha- lant comfort with the attention heaped upon him for it. In the afternoon, he clobbered 12 home runs during batting prac- tice, one in the top deck, where only bombs by AdamDunn have ventured, and several into the bullpen in left center field. The first word Nationals hitting coach Rick Eckstein said when asked about the display: “Wow.” “It felt like home,” Harper


said. “I’m like a little kid in a candy store.” In the evening,Harper sat at a


dais between General Manager Mike Rizzo — the man who called him“a cornerstone of the organization on and off the field” — and agent Scott Boras, his representative. MASN made it the centerpiece of its pregame show, replete with an emcee. Ryan Zimmerman—“the face of the franchise,” Rizzo said —


JONATHAN NEWTON/THE WASHINGTON POST BryceHarper, at right withGeneralManagerMike Rizzo and third basemanRyan Zimmerman, said, “I love playing. I live for baseball.”


entered the room for a moment to coverHarper’s shoulderswith a No. 34 Nationals uniform. “He hands out the jerseys,” Rizzo said. “It’s going in my next con-


tract,” Zimmerman said. Harper slapped on a red hat


with a white curly “W” and sat before a room full of reporters, his family and members of the Nationals ownership group. Quickly, Harper introduced a new phrase to the franchise’s lexicon. He explained that dur- ing batting practice earlier he had hit several “oppo boppos”— opposite field home runs. In the three months since


Harper played his last junior college game (from which he was ejected), he took batting practice on his own and lifted weightswith the Las VegasHigh School football team. Harper, a self-described “baseball rat” who constantly traveled to tour- naments as a kid, had never gone so long without playing a


baseball game. “Itwas a horrible break,” he said. In roughly two weeks,Harper


will report to the Florida In- structional League with several other high draft choices for the Nationals, Rizzo said. The Na- tionals may send Harper to the Arizona Fall League afterward, but they have yet to set a definite plan. The real question remains:


When willHarper don a Nation- als jersey for real? “I have no idea right now,”


Harper said. “I’m just trying to get out there and show what I can do. I’ll let the higher power take care of that. “But I set high standards for


myself. I think I should be perfect in every aspect of the game. I love playing. I live for baseball.” During the day, Harper chat-


ted with St. Louis Cardinals all-star first baseman Albert Pu- jols, which apparently was no big thing. “I’ve known Albert for


THOMAS BOSWELL Harper’s potential is no mirage for sleep-walking Nationals boswell from D1


him with a balance of discipline, high demands and love. (You are asleep now. You are


in a deep, deepNationals sleep. When you wake up, you will think it is April ’12. Strasburg and Zimmermann will be healthy. Simultaneously. Honest. Catcher Wilson Ramos and second baseman Danny Espinosa will join shortstop Ian Desmond and outfielder Roger Bernadina on a young team with Harper and Ryan Zimmerman batting third and fourth.) Nats President Stan Kasten


didn’t think that was too funny. “It’s not a dream,” he said. “And it won’t be ’12. It’s next year.” We’ll know very soon whether


theNats’ ideas about the future are self-deluding hypnosis or realistic analysis.We’ll know when we find out whether Strasburg is seriously hurt or just on the disabled list nursing a manageable pain in the forearm. Results of his latest, and probably conclusive, MRI exam are expected early Friday. “This afternoon, Stephen was


inmy office saying, ‘I can pitch tonight,’ ”Manager Jim Riggleman said Thursday before theNats’ marathon against the St. Louis Cardinals. Then, with the kind of candor a 35-year vet of pro ball can’t hold back, Riggleman added, “But Jordan thought he could pitch right through the whole situation last year.” Nobody ever really knows.


The MRI tells you. And when any pitcher gets a second and more sophisticated MRI, with dye injected into the pitching arm as Strasburg has, that means the first MRI didn’t look too good. To say theNats’ brass looked


scared to death Thursday night would be an understatement. You can quote all the stats you want about how 85 to 92 percent of Tommy John surgeries are “successful.” It still stinks. A season or more is lost forever. Some pitchers never make it back or aren’t as good. And even though the occasional Josh Johnson returns with a newelbow and an extra foot


when he was 18 and loved it. As a rookie, some of his teammates thought he should’ve talked a little less. But it won’t matter. Both of them were born to play baseball. Chipper’s dad taught him every position.He may have had more polish, but this kid has more pop.” AndHarper was also a


product of his pop—iron worker RonHarper, 45, who looks to be in better shape than a dozenNats. “I still say, ‘Mow the lawn.


Wash the car,’ and he does it,” said the father of the son who just got a $6.25-million bonus as part of a $9.9-million guaranteed contract. “He’s been raised to respect the game and he does.He knows you need to keep your mouth shut and do your work.” Still, what about the eye


black, the batter’s box antics that sometimes showed up junior college foes and the almost over-the-top quotes about how he “wants to be perfect at every aspect of the game”? “It can get borderline. But you


want him to be confident,” Ron Harper said. “If that doesn’t suit everybody, use it to fuel the fire.” “Bryce was brought up in the


JONATHAN NEWTON/THE WASHINGTON POST


BryceHarper poses with his family following his introductory news conference atNationals Park. “What’s most impressive is


added to his fastball, no sane person wants to role the elbow surgery dice. If Strasburg is healthy, then


theNats, even if they shut him down for the rest of this season, should be walking two inches off the ground with relief as they approach September. As long as Strasburg looks good to go next season, even if he now has an “Injury Prone?” sign on his back, Nats world is a palatable place. Not attractive, mind you.


Everything about theNats’ future is fascinating these days. Unfortunately, that’s a complete contrast to the way they actually play baseball in the present. SinceMay 13th when they


were 20-15, their temporary dry spell has extended into a summer-long snooze that has


reached 92 unacceptable games (33-59). For a team that said it should be graded on its results this year, the term is coming to an end in five weeks and a parental warning notice should be sent to the Lerner family about their failing children. So, at least for the moment,


keep your eyes fixed onHarper. It really is a wonderful sight, even though he may not be on display inNats Park again for a fewyears.His BP session had theNats who sawit buzzing. “Wow,” said hitting coach Rich Eckstein, who watchedHarper’s first serious swing, after a couple of bunts and slap hits to left field, disappear into the corner of the third deck in right field. “It wasn’t even down the line. It was fair by 40 feet.


that the balls he hits to left field are line drives that keep carrying, but the balls he pulls are hit high,” Eckstein added. “That’s an advanced approach. It gets you more hits to the opposite field, but [maximizes] power when you pull.” Harper’s personality,


however, is certain to get the most immediate attention.He’s either brash or charmingly confident.He’s either at ease with stardom at an earlier age than almost any ballplayer ever or he’s going to have a tough job digesting the normal dose of failure that baseball hands to even the most gifted. “Harper reminds me of


Chipper Jones,” Kasten said. “Chipper could speak in public


‘old school.’ I’mthe more serious one.He’s like his father and brother—always laughing and having fun,” said his mother, Sherri. “People will find out that he’s confident but not cocky.” So, focus, at least for a day,


only onHarper. Friday morning is time enough to find out about Stephen Strasburg. “I loved every minute of it . . .


smile and have fun,”Harper said. “It’s every little kid’s dream. . . . Adam Dunn is hilarious.He might be one of the funniest guys I ever met.” Then, for one of the fewtimes


on a fantasy day,Harper looked serious. “I’mnot where I want to be yet.Well, I am where I want to be,” he said. “But I still have a lot to prove.” Count slowly as you wake up:


2011, 2012, 2013. You are wide awake now. Open your eyes. What you see is BryceHarper


—proving it. boswellt@washpost.com


a while,” Harper said. He met Dunn, which was awesome. “He’s hilarious,” Harper said. “Hemight be one of the funniest guys I’ve evermet.” He still has never spokenwith


Stephen Strasburg. All Nationals employees wore


suits to the park. (“Nothing better than dressing up for a 17-year-old,” one of them said.) Harper made his first appear- ance during batting practice, when he jolted balls like any big leaguer, only farther. “He showed the ability to hit


powerful line drives to the oppo- site field and to the pull side,” Eckstein said. “He really showed a very short path to the ball, a very quick bat through the zone. An advanced approach for his age, definitely. Some of the things he was talking about hitting-wise, his feel for what he was trying to do, he was really advanced for his age.” Harper appeared just as com- fortable at the podium as in the


batter’s box. About his haircut, he explained, “I actually just got that.My sister is a beautician, so she tries different things one me. The ladies like it, so . . .” Harper said his first big pur-


chase would be to fix the dent in his 2000 Toyota Tacoma, which has 120,000 miles on it. A re- porter asked if he would buy a new truck. “Why?” Harper said. “It’s awesome.” “I’ve had a lot of people


aroundmemywhole life,”Harp- er said. “I’m really used to it now. I’ve had a lot ofmedia, a lot of little kids looking up to me. That’s the biggest, trying to teach the little guys how to go out there and have fun. Just go out there and play ball.” That will come. For now, the


Nationals will wait for him to grow, his first impression enough for them to believe it will be worth it. “He was pretty impressive,”


Eckstein said. “Wasn’t he?” kilgorea@washpost.com


Nationals Journal


Excerpts from


washingtonpost.com/ nationalsjournal


Strasburg, Nationals


await test results Stephen Strasburg underwent


an arthrogram Thursday, leaving theNationals towait nervously for the results thatwill determine his immediate future. “I’mvery anxious about that,”Manager Jim Riggleman said. “I don’t even venture to guess,”


Riggleman said. “The thingwith Stephen is, hewasmy office yesterday saying, ‘I could pitch tonight. I feel great.’But you never know. . . .All I can do is wait for it like anybody else.” TheNationalswill not receive


the results until Friday.The arthrogram, amore intricate version of anMRI examinwhich dye is shot into the area in question, is a standard procedure. TheNationals have said


Strasburg has a flexor tendon strain in his right forearm. Recovery fromthat injury includes rest and rehab, according to onemajor league teamdoctor, and does not require surgery.The arthogramwill reveal if anything else is amiss. Strasburg has never thrown


thismany innings—1231/3 between theminors andmajors — in a such a short period of time.The enhanced, unfamiliar workloadmakes any young starter fatigued and, the doctor said, often a callowpitcherwill respond by altering his mechanics and overthrowing so he doesn’t lose velocity. “He’ll do everything he can to


throw97miles per hour,” the doctor said, speaking in general terms. “It sets up a red flag.You look for a sign in his delivery. Why is this happening? It’s something you’ve got to ask.” Since Strasburg alsowent on


the disabled list at the end of July with inflammation in his shoulder, the cautious approach may be the only the option the Nationals have. “I don’t think they have a choice” but to shut himdown for the year, the doctor said.


Fan backsMorgan APhillies fan sitting in the


center field stands Saturday night atCitizensBankBallpark defendedNyjerMorgan’s actions and said his throwthat struck a fan did not appear to be deliberate. OnWednesday,MLB


suspendedMorgan seven games and condemned his “inappropriate actions” Saturday night.Morgan appealed the suspension and played both Wednesday andThursday. AdamHolman, a 25-year-old


fromMarlton,N.J.,who sat in the sectionwhere a fanwas hit by a ballMorgan threwinto the crowd, contactedThe Post unsolicited to describewhat he saw.He e-mailed a photo of his ticket stub fromthat night as proof hewas present. InHolman’s recollection,


Morgan began getting heckled in the fourth or fifth inning. Morgan,Holmanwrote in an e- mail, laughed at some of the comments. While theNationalswarmed


up in the bottomof the eighth inning,Morgan played catchwith left fielderRogerBernadina. Before the inning started, Morgan looked at the crowd.A boy of about 12,Holman recalled, leaned over a railing and called for the ball. Standing 30 or so feet away,


Holmanwrote,Morgan lobbed the ball “rainbow-style” in the direction of the boy.The ball sailed over the boy and smacked a fanwhowas looking in a different direction in the shoulder. “Itwasn’t even directed


towards the heckler,”Holman wrote. “It’s unfortunate that the ballwas overthrown, but it shouldn’t beMorgan’s fault that the one guy in the sectionwho wasn’t paying attention got hit. Therewere a number of us standing up trying to catch the ball.”


—AdamKilgore NATIONALSONDECK


VS.CARDINALS Friday, 7:05(MASN) Saturday, 7:05(MASN) Sunday, 1:35(WDCW-50)


ATMARLINS Monday, 7:10(MASN) Tuesday, 7:10(MASN2) Wednesday, 7:10(MASN2)


ATPIRATES Sept.3, 7:05(MASN2) Sept.4, 7:05(MASN2) Sept.5, 1:35(WDCW)


Radio:WFED(820AM, 1500AM)


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